O Chie, Chie! Wherefore art thou Chie?
by Kiyohime
Summary: [Multiple pairings] Chie x Aoi is the main pairing, others are HarukaYukino, ShizNat and possible MaiMikoto. The Twelve HiMEs and few of their friends performs Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet for a school play.
1. The Casting

_Thanks to a somewhat weird dream I had last night that included Romeo & Juliet... I came up with this idea of our twelve HiMEs and their friends being involved in the famous Shakespeare play, heh. Well, here's chapter one.. Hope you all like._

_ As for "Fallen Angel".. I'm STILL working on chapter two. ::Sheepish smile::_

**The Casting**_  
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"**NO**! I refuse!"

As expected, Natsuki disagreed to perform as the role of Romeo, or according to her, "The most embarrassing and stupidest role E-V-E-R!", in William Shakespeare's most famous play, Romeo and Juliet. Unfortunately for Natsuki, she was the first target for a such role since Tate was out of state, due to family emergency. Reito, well... naturally, he'd be chosen as Romeo but his schedule was full with classes and work, so he's out of the picture.

"Natsuki!" A gasp, "How could you insult one of the most beautiful and tragic plays written by--"

"--William Shakespeare, I know. But Mai, I'm a GIRL. Romeo is a BOY. There is a big difference between those two, you know."

"Oh my god, Natsuki actually knew something about plays that she never studied!" a sarcastic remark from Mai, which was dutifully ignored.

"Heh. Romeo looked like a tomboyish girl to me at first," a certain redhead retorted.

A smug smirk is presented by the mayo-addict, "Why don't you play Romeo, Nao? You'll be perfect for the part! Seeing how your chest is almost flat and all. Just put your hair up and put a wig on… then we'll have our Rom…"

That certainly did trigger a response out of the young delinquent as she glared daggers at her rival…and opened her mouth, "OH YEAH!? Well I have an even BETTER idea… why don't YOU be Juliet and your boyfriend, Takeda, can be Romeo!"

"Hey, that's a good idea!" Mai agreed, much to Natsuki's dismay.

Natsuki's face claimed a look of horror and flustered from anger at the mere thought of her spewing mushy lines and worse, _kissing_ that idiot! AND even worse, Takeda was mentioned as her boyfriend!! Although, even so, Takeda was busy with kendo meets and Natsuki was relieved for that. Very much so.

Just when she started to open her mouth to blurt out obscenities towards Nao, a melodic voice echoed in the biker's ears, "Ara, I hope I'm not late for the meeting. I had family business to attend."

_That voice… Kyoto-ben… WHA! Shizuru!? What is she-- _"Ehhh!? Shizuru!? What are you doing here!? I thought you had classes at the University!"

"Mou… it sounds like Natsuki doesn't want me here.. ::sniff sniff:: I'll just go back home then…"

"OI! NO! It's not that--! It's just.. I thought you had classes…!" With a restrained 'arg', Natsuki, once again dominated by guilt, rushed to her chestnut haired friend and did something…unexpected. She _instigated _a physical contact for the first time by locking Shizuru in a hug… in front of everyone.

Burgundy eyes widened in surprise and fortunately for Shizuru, her back was turned to Natsuki and everyone else so no one saw her blushing face. _Natsuki… her arms. Are around me. She's… hugging me. Finally…I can die a happy maiden. _The warm smile that spread across the ex-kaichou's face did not remain long as it evolved into an playful smirk. She then sighed dreamily, "Fufu, if Natsuki really wants me to stay here... in her arms... then I'll be more than willing to do so. But if she wants to do more than that, we'll have to wait till we're alone."

_Wha? AH! This woman--! AGAIN! ARG! _Every shade of red that existed and didn't exist flashed over the ice princess's face within seconds upon realization, "B-BAKA!" Unlatching herself from Shizuru immediately, she spun around and crossed arms across her chest, scowling.

"So sweet," Mai sniffled and a low growl was received in answer.

Shizuru chuckled slightly and turned around to face everyone, her laughing eyes briefly roamed over Natsuki's shapely form before directing them to Mai. Undoubtedly, naughty thoughts were stirring up inside her head.

"Kannin na for my late arrival, Tokiha-san," she said with her famous disarming smile.

"N-no, that's okay! We haven't even decided on the roles...yet," Mai stuttered, obviously falling victim to the smile and nodded her head towards Nao and Natsuki.

Shizuru smiled in understanding and knew the two were probably too busy insulting each other, "I see... well, how about I'll be the fair lady Juliet and Natsuki can be R--"

"NO!" Natsuki flustered and narrowed her eyes at Mai suspiciously, "You invited her, didn't you!?"

Mai smiled sheepishly and sweatdropped, "Sorry! We're short on cast and Kaic-- Fujino-san was the only one I could think of to invite to join us!"

The biker just glared and huffed. _Bullshit! I bet they're just doing this to torment me! I bet it on my supply of my precious mayo! _Upon thinking that, her emerald eyes shifted and landed on Shizuru...and she started to reconsider. _Wow... since when did Shizuru get more beautifu-- OH GOD! WHAT AM I THINKING!? _Quickly before Shizuru caught her staring, Natsuki looked off to the side and desperately searched for anything else to fix her gaze on.

Little did Natsuki know, Shizuru noticed this and smirked slightly as Natsuki's face reddened some more.

"A-HEM! So, about the cast... I think Shizuru's suggestion is a good ide...a..." the ex-flame HiME trailed off as she felt icy glares on her, "...Or not. Come on! Just let's get this over with so we can start practicing!"

"Well since you mentioned that you were short on the cast, I asked Suzushiro-san to join us, is that okay?"

"Really?? Is she coming??" Mai beamed with hope while Natsuki and Nao grimaced at the thought of the blonde parading around in tights and hollering out lines and messing up words along the way.

"Hai. She's with Kikukawa at the moment, but they should be arriving shortly."

"That's great! Now all we need is two more people..."

"Isn't that so? Then you surely wouldn't mind if _we _joined you guys?" A voice rang out from the side entrance of the theater.

Everyone else turned their attention to the source of the voice to find two familiar faces, "Chie! Aoi! God, yes. Please do. I'll love you forever!" Mai exclaimed.

"Ah ha ha, it seems that we have our own fan, Aoi. I'm flattered," the gray-haired teenager smirked and glanced over at her blue-eyed companion.

Mai took a look at Chie, a good and long look... She could've sworn that she saw a flicker of affection flash by in the gossip-starter's eyes towards Aoi. A smile then slowly spread across her face, "I think..."

"Ara?" Shizuru glanced at Mai curiously, but it didn't take her long enough to figure out what Mai was thinking and smiled.

"...I think we've found our Romeo and Juliet."

TBC.


	2. Practice Or Is It?

_Chapter two. Man... never thought it'd be HARD to match up the characters with the roles. But then again, I like a good challenge. _

_Many thanks to those who read and reviewed. I'm glad you liked the idea for this story's plot. Hope this chapter is to your satisfaction. _

**Practice... Or Is It?**

It took the HiMEs and their friends over an hour to decided who would perform as who. Only if two certain delinquents hadn't complained so much and if Shizuru had the patience to wait till later to tease Natsuki mercilessly, things would've gone smoothly. Unfortunately, only several roles were able to be decided, while the rest remain undecided. They'd have to wait till their next meet to decide the rest.

Haruka accepted to perform as Tybalt, Juliet's cousin. Mai thought the role was perfect for the former Student Council Director, seeing how Tybalt is pugnacious and tends to have a bad temper. Shizuru chose to perform as Juliet's nurse. The ex-kaichou thought it'd be amusing to perform as her and it possibly could be of because how the nurse appears as a playful individual, tending to deliver sexual jokes and is quite talkative. Natsuki knew she was doomed when Shizuru asked her to practice with her. Doomed, why? Because Natsuki couldn't even bring herself to decline after witnessing Shizuru's most effective puppy-eyes attack.

Nao, undoubtedly, chose to perform as the apothecary. Not only because the role suits Nao's delinquency, the role was minor. Which means she wouldn't spend a lot of time on stage. Natsuki found that as an advantage to tease Nao about her stage fright.

Copies of the play's script was handed out, so those who already had roles could start practicing. Mai also thought it might help the rest who doesn't have a role yet to help and decide who they'd perform as. Bidding one other good night, the gang headed back to their homes.

_**--Chie's apartment: 8:00 PM--**_

Aoi sometimes envied Chie, because she lived in an apartment when she had to tolerate living in a dorm room with someone she barely gets to talk with as often. Nao was always going out at night, doing what? Only god knows what. Then again, she might would've not wanted to know.

Although, Chie told Aoi once that she was always welcome to her place and to come over whenever she pleased. Aoi was grateful for that. Chie's parents absolutely adored Aoi very much and agreed that she should come over any time she wants (often). Tonight, Chie's parents were out of town and wouldn't return in two days. Chie had insisted that Aoi should sleep over at her place while her parents were out, that way they could get most practice done with. Chie, surprisingly, was a fan of Shakespeare so it's natural that she'd want to practice right away.

What Chie doesn't know, is that Aoi was very excited to perform as Juliet to Chie's Romeo. They get to kiss! Yes, it's out in the open... Aoi secretly has a crush on her best friend. Was it Chie's gentlemanly charms that made Aoi fall in love with her? Or that Chie is capable of making her laugh and smile even on her worst days? It was both of those things. Aoi always felt comfortable with being herself around the other girl.

The girls ate a quick dinner at Liden Baum before stopping by Aoi's dorm to pick up her change of clothes and returned to Chie's place. Not long after the girls changed in something more comfortable, they started practicing. From time to time, they'd joke about picturing Natsuki and Shizuru performing as Romeo and Juliet instead of them. They could see Natsuki blushing madly and screaming profanities at Mai, cursing her while Shizuru attempts to silence the ice princess by kissing her.

"It's no surprise that Fujino-san asked Mai if she and Natsuki could be the understudies for our roles!" Chie chuckled while reading bits and pieces of few scenes they were to practice.

"It's so obvious Natsuki has a thing for her... did you see the way she looked at Fujino-san longingly for a moment today??" retorted Aoi who sighed dreamily, remembering today earlier.

Chie smirked playfully as she glanced up at Aoi, "Aside from that, you sure did seem very excited to perform as Juliet..." That triggered a definite answer from Aoi as the blue eyed girl blushed and darted her eyes down at her copy of the script, clearing her throat.

"A-anyway! Which part should we practice now?"

"Hmm..." Chie lofted a brow as she studied her best friend for a moment then returned her gaze at the script, "Oh, I know! Let's do the balcony scene. That's the best part!" The gossiper grinned as Aoi snapped her head back up to look at Chie surprised, but managed to maintain a casual demeanor and grinned back, "Okay."

Aoi stood while Chie remained on the floor on her knees, making it easier to visualize they were at the balcony. Hazel hues were immediately fixated on Aoi as Chie started her part and Aoi silently listened.

_"He jests at scars that never felt a wound._

Knowing that at this point, Aoi as Juliet would appear onto the balcony at the window, so Chie continued on.

_But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?  
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.  
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,  
Who is already sick and pale with grief,  
That thou her maid art far more fair than she:  
Be not her maid, since she is envious;  
Her vestal livery is but sick and green  
And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.  
It is my lady, O, it is my love!  
O, that she knew she were!  
She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that?  
Her eyes discourses; I will answer it.  
I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks:  
Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,  
Having some business, do entreat her eyes  
To twinkle in their spheres till they return.  
What if her eyes were there, they in her head?  
The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,  
As daylight doth a lamp, her eyes in heaven  
Would through the airy region stream so bright  
That birds would sing and think it were not night.  
See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!  
O, that I were a glove upon that hand,  
That I might touch that cheek!"_

Through out the entire part, Aoi noticed something tender and warm in Chie's eyes and sworn that Chie was really speaking straight from her heart and not performing. Or was she? Nonetheless, Aoi couldn't really tell... but somehow, she had a new hope now. She then spoke her line.

_"Ay me!" _

Chie was quick to retort her part.

_"She speaks:  
O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art  
As glorious to this night, being o'er my head  
As is a winged messenger of heaven  
Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes  
Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him  
When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds  
And sails upon the bosom of the air..._

_Aoi..."_

"C-chie?" the blue eyed girl choked out the name, startled as she gazed into the other girl's eyes and saw that gleam of affection in her eyes again. Aoi knew that they were just practicing, but the way Chie uttered out her name AFTER her next stanza was spoken had her beyond-words bewildered. She was even more surprised as she realized Chie's face was coming closer to hers.

_When did she stand up? She's quick... ohmygodohmygod. Is she going to--_

Her heart felt like exploding from extreme shock and bliss the second she felt Chie's soft lips pressing against hers. Jolts of electricity seared in both of their bodies and Aoi couldn't resist anymore, wrapped an arm around the other girl's waist and crushed her frame up against Chie's. Aoi's lips willingly parted and deepened the kiss.

Chie's copy of the script was no longer in her hand and the said hand was currently wrapped around the back of Aoi's neck. Neither girls didn't know how long the kiss lasted, all they knew that it felt right. It was amazing.

When the point where they'd need to break away to breathe came, they pulled away and stared at each other with flustered faces.

"I-I'm sorry! I should've not--"

"That... was amazing..."

"C-chie...?"

"Aoi. I don't think I can hold this in any longer. I'm tired of hiding. I... Aoi..."

"I love you too," Aoi blurted out, her eyes tearing up out of joy and smiled warmly. A soft gasp then fled from her lips as Chie grabbed her wrist, pulled her against her frame and instigated another heated kiss.

The new-found lovers ended up crashing on the couch, spent time with each other just exchanging gentle kisses, sharing small conversations declaring the truth of what they felt for each other and dozed off in one other's arms. They both were in pure bliss and knew this play was a miracle for them. It brought them together at last. There was no hiding anymore and pretending to like one other as best friends to ease the fear of the truth they imagined would exist.

The next day, they were late to school but neither one didn't care. They felt like staying in and practicing more... much, _much _more.

TBC.


End file.
